Can-opener.



PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

A. D. YORK.

CAN OPENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1904.

HO MODEL.

Patented August 2, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

ADMIRAL D. YORK, OF ENSLEY, ALABAMA.

CAN-OPENER.

SPECIFICATION. forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,209, dated August 2, 1904:.

Application filed March 23, 1904.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADMIRAL D. YORK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ensley, in the county of J eflerson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to can-opening devices; and the main and essential feature thereof rests in the provision of an article of this class which embodies an extreme simplicity of structure. so that it can be made in quan tities at a minimum cost.

Because of the extreme simplicity and cheapness as regards the cost of manufacture of the opener it can be readily attached to cans or like receptacles which must needs be opened by a device of this type, and this is an advantageous feature of my invention.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the manner of use of the device when in operation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of my can-opener. Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

In the preferred structure of the opener the same is made from a single length of material, such as wire, strip metal, or the like.

The essential parts of the device consist of the shank 1, the cutting-blade 2., formed at one end of the shank 1, and a handle member 3, adjacent the shank aforesaid. The drawings illustrate an opener formed from a single length of steel wire, preferably, same being of a suitable gage to lend the necessary strength and rigidity to the opener. The

shank 1 in order to provide a cutting-blade has Serial No. 199,608. (No model.)

the end portion thereof sharpened for this purpose, and since the shank is made from steel the edge of the cutting-blade will be retained very readily. The shank 1 is bent to form a paralleling arm or handle member 3, which, together with the shank, comprises the handle by which the device is operated. The member 3 of course constitutes a continuation or integral part of the shank and may be readily bent in the manner shown and above described. The end portion of the handle member 3, which is virtually one end portion of the shank 1, is projected laterally and transversely across the shank-body 1 adjacent the cutting-blade 2 thereon. The transverselybent portion constitutes a fulcrum member 4, which being disposed below the shank affords a means whereby purchase may be had in operating the can-opener for cutting purposes. The end portion of the shank which forms the fulcrum member 4 is preferably flattened, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, to enlarge same for obvious reasons.

In operating the can-opener the point of the cutting-blade 2 is first introduced within or passed through the part which it is designed to cut. Then by a continuous up-and-down movement of the handle of the opener the same will cut very readily in a straight or circular line, dependent upon the desire of the operator and as found necessary.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the opener comprises separate members in the provision of the shank 1 and the handle memher 3 and that the handle member extending across the shank forms the convenient fulcrum which has been hereinbefore described.

Since my device can be made from a single length of material, such as set forth hereinbefore, it will be readily seen that the cost thereof is reduced to a minimum and that the can-openers may be easily secured to the can bodies and sold therewith without appreciably increasing the cost of the receptacle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A can-opener comprising a shank provided with a cutting-blade, a handle member spaced from the shank, and a fulcrum member projected from the handle member aforesaid and disposed transversely across the shank at a point adjacent the cutting-blade aforesaid.

2. A can-opener comprising separate members, one of saidmembers being provided With a cutting-blade, the other of said members being extended transversely across the member provided With the cutting-blade to form a fulcrum therefor.

3. A can opener comprising a shank or handle portion provided at one end With a cutting-blade and having the other end portion extended and projected transversely across the said shank adjacent the cutting-blade to form a fulcrum member.

4. A can opener consisting of a single ADMIRAL D. YORK. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

WVM. H. HURTER, W. H. MOORE. 

